A Case for Diversity

In the Trump administration and MAGA agenda, there has been a war on diversity. This has been evident in many ways—the anti-immigration push to deport as many non-whites as possible for an ever increasing breadth of reasons, the firings or refusals to promote women or people of color in the Armed Forces, the pressure against universities to eliminate any scholarships or benefits for historic minorities and the promotion of a flipped narrative that, because of such programs, it is the whites not the minorities who have been discriminated against, etc., etc.  All this is designed to generate outrage and fear among the majority white population—fear that if we don’t act quickly, the nation as we know it will be lost and overrun with dangerous and harmful elements.  Many Christian evangelicals have bought into this narrative and share in these fears.  As a fellow evangelical, I would like to appeal to their reason by presenting three reasons why a diverse and pluralistic society is something that American evangelicals should value and promote.

First, our economy needs a diverse society.  Many aspects of our economy depend on non-white workers.  Our farms need workers from Latin America.  Without Indians, would we have enough people to run our hotels? Without Mexicans, who would repair our roofs or build our houses? Without Indians and Chinese, would we not have a brain drain in Silicon Valley that would erode our competitive edge? By sending these people away, or by setting policies that make it harder for Indians, Chinese, and others to stay in our country to work in the tech industry, are we not shooting ourselves in the foot?  This will not make America great again but will cause a decline in our economy.  The greatness and flourishing of America’s economy depends on a diverse society. 

Second, our education system needs diversity. Many colleges and universities are struggling financially and are shutting down. These struggling universities depend on international students and the tuition they pay to keep afloat financially.  With the number of international students now dropping due to Trump’s unwelcoming policies, more schools that have been just getting by will be shutting down.  Moreover, our universities depend on international faculty.  Many Asian cultures, for example, highly value education and have considered America’s elite schools to offer the best quality and opportunity in higher education.  If fewer of these choose to study in our universities and pursue academic careers in America, do we have enough white American young people who want to get PhDs and go into academia?

Third, our lives and our culture are enriched by a pluralistic, diverse society.  We can all enjoy diversity of foods and restaurants.  We have more options in fashion and entertainment.  Our thinking can be stimulated by ideas from other cultures.  And when necessary, our assumptions about people different from us can be challenged

Fourth, and here I speak specifically to Christians, the presence of people in America from all over the world present us with an opportunity to spread the gospel to all nations by reaching the nations that have come to us, whether as international students, immigrants, or diplomats. It is increasingly difficult to send missionaries to many parts of the world, but God is bringing to our country people from all nations who need the gospel.  Thus, we should see the presence of people from around the world as an opportunity, not as a threat.  Moreover, regarding the Christians coming here from other countries, their presence in our churches enables American Christians to experience more of the rich global diversity of the body of Christ.

For all these reasons and more, Americans, including evangelical Christians, should not be against a diverse, pluralistic society but rather should promote it.